Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $307,000 Position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 65.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,896 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,653 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,461,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,172,000 after acquiring an additional 488,904 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in AutoNation by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,104,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,662,000 after acquiring an additional 426,882 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in AutoNation by 422.7% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 575,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,658,000 after purchasing an additional 465,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 435,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,965,000 after acquiring an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cartenna Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,831,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their price target on AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cfra Research upgraded shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.38.

AutoNation Stock Performance

Shares of AN stock opened at $190.58 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.33 and a 12 month high of $217.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $197.09 and its 200 day moving average is $183.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.94, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $5.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.99 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation Profile

AutoNation, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Domestic, Import, and Premium Luxury. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and parts and services, such as automotive repair and maintenance, and wholesale parts and collision services.